Your Darkest Hour Comes Before Dawn
Right from the beginning when I started down the path of starting my own company I knew there was going to be some stressful times but I also knew it would be a journey that would change my life forever. The interesting realization as I look back on the 7 years is understanding; it’s not what I’ve accumulated over the years, it’s the person I had to become to endure the journey.
As we approach the end of another year, take this time to reflect on your achievements and also your failures. Many times, people don’t reflect on their failures and I understand why.
Who wants to hash up DIFFICULT times?
Reflecting on your failures is such an important stage of development and growth and I’ll share a little secret with you.
Failure is sometimes in your control and other times out of your control.
The failures out of your control is acceptable but reflect on it and ensure you get the life lesson to be learned from each of them.
The failure in your control is what happens when you give up because the task in front of you becomes to daunting and you decide the best solution is to go back to your comfort zone.
This is what I call the darkest hour before the dawn.
I hesitated to include this but I’ll put myself on the HOT seat and share a few of my almost failures because times got hard and I almost quit.
Smart Home Choice – Lawyers told us it wouldn’t work
Monthly Podcasts – I hated the sound of my voice
Blogs – I hated English class and hated writing
Mastermind Events – The fear of public speaking
This is just to name a few of the uphill battles I had to face. Right before any major breakthrough is where you experience the most resistance or your darkest hours. If you can push through and hold on a bit longer in many cases this is where I see many entrepreneurs achieve their best results.
I get it… it’s not easy. I’ve had many dark hours, even throughout this year. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years on how to stay on track through attending networking events and being taught by my mentors throughout the years.
I’ll share the top 4 qualities every investor or entrepreneur should have.
Having meaningful relationships – By surrounding yourself around high achievers you begin to talk like them, walk like them and take action like them. This circle of friends, family and business partners is fundamental to you living the life you are trying to attain.
Don’t Make Excuses – If you say you are going to do something do it! Don’t blame anyone else but you for where you are in life. What I’ve discovered by watching successful entrepreneurs is they go out make things happen. If they don’t get the results they were expecting, they try another door. Action oriented people ask the question ‘how’!
They Celebrate Along The Way – I can’t stress how important this is. I didn’t in the beginning and I was always focused on the next goal, the next investment property… Etc. Don’t make this mistake. When you put the check mark beside your achieved goal, it’s time for a dinner out at your favourite restaurant, high five your spouse or business partner or roll the windows down with the shades on and bump your favourite tunes.
Keep Your Promise – It’s incredibly important to keep your promise to someone. This shows to others you can be trusted and counted on and this message continues to move throughout their network as well. Equally important is keeping your promise to yourself. When you don’t, this erodes your self-confidence and sends you down a road of procrastination and procrastination is the opposite of perseverance.
Here’s my take on failure and what I share with my kids.
There’s no such thing as failure, just life experiences. Anytime you’re growing you are going to go through discomfort. To truly become successful you have to define your philosophies, keep reading books, go to that seminar and take that extra class.
The BIGGEST secret when it comes to what makes people successful, is that their success came not from being more talented, smarter or luckier than the average person, but because of their habits they developed throughout the course of their life.
As my good friend Jim Rohn said, “regret weighs tons and discipline weighs ounces”.
Remember, your darkest hour comes before dawn. Stay strong, believe in your DREAMS and before you know it, the morning sun will be rising and so will you!
Gary Hibbert
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